Around a dozen people have been shot dead in Egypt as a state crackdown against the country's Muslim Brotherhood widened on Friday.

Four protesters have been shot dead in Egypt in another day of protests by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood. Islamists opposed to the army's deposition of President Mohamed Mursi have been holding daily demonstrations across the country since the army labelled them a 'terrorist group'. One protester was shot dead in the Suez Canal region after a march set off from a mosque after prayers, while another was shot in the head in another march in a rural district. A man and a woman were also killed in Alexandria, with mixed reports over whether the woman was involved in the protest at all. Over the past six months, the new army-controlled government has arrested thousands of members of the Brotherhood, has ordered that the group's assets be frozen, and has drawn up a new constitution banning religiously-based political parties. A vote on the new constitution will be held later in January -- but with the Brotherhood seeming to grow increasingly defiant, some experts have warned the violence may continue for some time yet. Report by Charlotte Cross.